Sliding door



J. R. MAYS SLIDING DOOR May 28, 1963 2 SheetsSheet 1' INVENTOR JAMES fr. M/IYJ Filed June 16, 1960 J. R. MAYS 3,091,004

SLIDING DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 28, 1963 Filed June 16, 1960 INVENTOR JA/ /[f f. MAKS' United States Patent Office 3,691,964 Patented May 28, 1963 3,091,004 SLIDING DOQR James R. Mays, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Mays Equipment Development Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation Filed June 16, 1960, Ser. No. 36,588 1 Claim. (Cl. 20-19) The present invention relates to sliding doors of the character which are particularly suitable for use in public institutions such as hospitals, public buildings and the like.

A purpose of the invention is to permit effective cleaning of sliding doors and the equipment related thereto.

A further purpose is to reduce the danger from contamination in hospitals and the like.

A further purpose is to permit more ready access to the mechanism of a sliding door for the purpose of repan.

A further purpose is to permit ready removal of a sliding door for painting, lock repair, or other maintenance purposes, or for replacement of one type of sliding door by another.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claim.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the form shown from the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of the wall of a building and the associated sliding door of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan section of FIGURE 1 on the line 22, with the door closed.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the door pocket and associated wall on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1, showing the door in position to close the door opening.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

Considerable attention has been directed recently to unexplained epidemics of disease and infection, such as operating room infection, in hospitals, clinics, and other medical buildings. Attention has been directed to the need for efiective cleaning of all parts of such buildings where dirt may accumulate.

One of the sources of difliculty is the conventional sliding door which has a door pocket which accumulates dirt for years and is difficult or impossible to clean. This is true not only in hospitals but in public and private buildings generally.

There is also a tendency for sliding doors to give trouble, either because foreign objects enter the door pocket and interfere with the door, or because dirt or the like prevent proper functioning of the sliding mechamsm. I

The present invention contemplates providing convenient access to all parts of a sliding door and its door pocket, for the purpose of cleaning, repair, replacement, or otherwise.

The invention can be employed to swing the door out of the way for convenient access to the door pocket, or the door may be removed from the track and separated entirely from the other parts if desired.

It will thus be possible if conditions require to wipe all parts of the door and associated components with cleaning or disinfecting solution, or to repaint or replace the components if necessary.

Considering now the drawings in detail, I illustrate a vertical wall of a building which includes a door opening 21 provided with a jamb 22 at one side secured to the wall and having, vertically extending at the center, a door receiving groove 23, and having at the opposite side a jarnb 24 in spaced parts consisting of a rigid jamb half 25 and a movable jamb half 26 separated by a door pocket mouth opening 27. At the sides of the mouth opening there are inwardly directed flanges 28 on the door jamb halves, and the sides of the flanges toward the door are lined with rubber cushion material 30 so that an unusually tight door mount construction is ob tained.

The door jarnb half 26 is connected to the wall 20 by a vertically pivoted hinge 31 so that the jamb half 26 can swing between the solid line position and the dotand-dash line position of FIGURE 2, remaining in either position as determined by the user through the friction of the hinge, although of course latch means can be provided as required.

The door opening at the top has a door header 32 which is above the fixed door jamb half 25, and in spaced relation at the other side has a door header 33 which is supported and connected to the wall 20 above the door by a horizontally pivoted hinge 34. The door header 33 can move outwardly to the dot-and-dash position of FIGURE 4. The header 33 is held in closed position by a closet door latch 35 engaging the door frame.

The door headers at their sides nearest the door have upwardly extending flanges 36 and these are covered on the sides adjoining the door by rubber cushions 37 which accomplish the desired scaling to the door.

Extending across the top of the door opening in the center between the headers is a metallic track 38 which passes through the mouth 27 of door pocket 40 and into door pocket 40 of the wall 20 between the jarnb halves 25 and 26.

The track suitably consists of a hook portion 41 which has a longitudinally extending track recess 42 at its upper side, and base flanges 43 which are secured at the top to the wall 20, 'as by lag screws, not shown.

A sliding door 44 moves between a position in which it is completely sealed in the pocket 40, to a position in which it closes the door opening and is supported and guided by spaced rollers 45 on brackets 46 which are adjust-ably connected to the door by anchorages 47.

The center of the bottom of the pocket desirably contains :an aligning rail 48 and the door is recessed at 50 to ride over the aligning rail, so that when the door is in the pocket it will be guided at the bottom by the aligning rail and will not rub against the sides of the pocket.

In operation, when the door is normally used, it generally functions in a manner similar to other sliding doors, being capable of sliding fully into the pocket out of the way, or of sliding to a position in which as shown in FIGURE 2 one side of the door is in the groove 23 of jamb 22 while the other side of the door is engaged by cushions 30 on jamb halves 25 and 26 closing the door opening.

There is also, however, a mid-position as suggested by dot-and-dash lines 51 in FIGURE 2 in which the door no longer engages in the recess 23 of jamb 22. In this position jamb half 26 can swing out to the side as shown by the dot-and-dash lines in FIGURE 2, and door header frame 33, with release of its latch 35, can swing outwardly as suggested by dot-and-dash lines in FIGURE 4, and the entire door pivoting on the lower surfaces of the rollers 45 can swing in the direction of jamb half 26 at the bottom as suggested by arrow 52, so that the bottom of the mouth 27 of the pocket 40 is uncovered. In this position of the door cleaning personnel can insert a vacuum cleaner nozzle into the door pocket and clean out the door pocket eflEect-ively. If desired, the door 44 can be lifted off itstrrack entirely and taken out of the door opening for more efiective cleaning of the door pocket, the jambs, the headers and the door, or for replacement or maintenance of the door.

In view of'my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore, claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claim.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A sliding door assembly for installation in a wall comprising a pocket door frame including a frame defining the (1001' opening and a door receiving pocket, and a door having track engaging means for the door to be supported in said frame, said frame comprising a split jamb adjacent the door pocket having an opening through which the door can pass to an opened or closed position, and a second jamb spaced from the split jamb, said split jamb having a first stationary upright on a first side of the plane of the wall, a second stationary upright on a second side of the plane of the wall opposite firom the said first side and a swinging upright having a closed position wherein the said swinging upright holds and guides the door and having an open position wherein said door maybe removed from said frame, hinge means connecting said swinging upright to said second stationary upright, said second jamb comprising a stationary upright member for said frame to receive the sliding door in a closed position, header means connected to said split jamb and second jamb comprising a first stationary header pontion extending between said first stationary upright and said second jamb on said first side of the plane of the wall, a second stationary header portion extending between said second stationary upright and said second jamb on said second side of the plane of the wall, a swinging header portion having a closed position and an open position, and adapted in closed position to hold and guide the door, and in open position to extend out of contact with said door for said door to be removed from said frame, hinge means connecting said swinging header portion to said second stationary header portion, a track extending between said header portions I and the second jamb and the end of the door pocket remote from the split jamb, said track receiving said track 15 engaging means and being fixed relative to said wall for supporting said door, and =latch means for holding said swinging upright and said swinging header portion in a closed position, said pocket lying in the plane of the wall and adjacent said frame in communicating relationship with the split in said split jamb and adapted to receive the door in an open positon, said pocket comprising a first wall fixedly connected to said first stationary up right, a second wall connected to the said second station ary upright, and an end wall extending from the said first Wall to the said second Wall and remote from said split jamb for said door to be received in said pocket in the extreme open position of said door.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,047 Vandernoth Mar. 21, 1893 2,114,198 Winn Apr. 12, 1938 2,554,294 Conray et a1 May 22, 1951 

